Richard Withers

Richard Scott Withers (born 1955) is an American Catholic priest and diocesan hermit. In 1974, Withers converted to Catholicism and was baptized; later he started to live a religious life. In 1989, Withers and Sister Margaret McKenna moved to inner city Philadelphia and founded New Jerusalem Laura, a drug treatment center. Withers petitioned the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to become a diocesan hermit several times but was rejected. In 2001, Withers made his vows as a hermit by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. He was the first diocesan hermit in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Withers lives in a hermitage, a converted rowhouse, in the city of Philadelphia where he spends most of his time in prayer. He was ordained on May 17, 2025.

Early life Withers was born in California's San Fernando Valley. He had seven siblings and his father was a mechanical engineer. Neither of his parents were practicing Catholics during his childhood. His father had been raised Catholic but then "lapsed". Instead, he was raised culturally Jewish according to the faith of his mother. When Withers was eight, his family moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. In 1974, he had an encounter with a group of Catholic activists at the bicycle repair shop where he worked, which caused him to convert to Catholicism and be baptized. The same year, Withers left home for nearby Camden, New Jersey, to live in and repair abandoned row houses.

Religious life After his baptism, Withers lived in a loosely affiliated religious community. While there, Withers almost got married but decided that he wanted to live a religious life instead. In 1984, he took private vows of "poverty, chastity, and obedience" and became a hermit. Before taking his vows, Withers had looked into several religious orders, but he could not find one that he felt compatible with. There, they founded New Jerusalem Laura, a treatment center for drug addicts.

Two years later, in 1991, Withers bought a derelict rowhouse from the city of Philadelphia for $1 and parted ways with McKenna.

Life as a hermit As a hermit, Withers lives in solitude. He does not own a car or television; he gets his news from the people around him and gets around on a bicycle that he found, broken, on the side of the road. At the end of each year, he donates any funds that remain to charity.

Withers wakes up at 5 AM and then fills his day with prayer and chores, following his rule of life. He prays for 4½ hours each day. Withers claims that "it's in the solitude that I hear God best".